Method and apparatus for forming ladder web slat supports for venetian blinds



Feb- 26, 1952 H. W. HONEYMAN, JR., ET AL 2,586,822

METHOD AND APPARATUS PoR FORMING LADDER WEB sLAT SUPPORTS PoRVDNETIANDLINDS IN V EN TORS. f1/en WH0/magma, r. HenryBUY/ Honey/warg@AT TORNEYS Feb- 26, 1952 H. w. HONEYMAN, JR., ET AL 2,586,822

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR F ORMING LADDER' WEB sLAT SUPPORTS FOR VENETIANBLINDS Filed Jan. 7, 1949 -4 sheets-sheet 2 v INVENTORS. j Henrymlofneymam, Jd W Honey/779211,15

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ATTORNEYS- Feb- 26, 1952 H. w. HONEYMAN, JR., ET AL 2,586,822 METHOD ANDAPPARATUS EDR EORMING LADDER WEB SLAT SUPPORTS FOR VENETIAN BLINDS FiledJan. 7, 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 j W IN V EN TORSy P 6x1/ Home ma/1 l?[enrgw Homyan, :5f-ff ATTORNEYS.

Feb- 26, 1952 H. w. HONEYMAN, JR., ET'AL 2,586.822

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FORMING LADDER WEB sLAT SUPPORTS FOR VENETIANBLINDS Filed Jan. '7, 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 wf gj 1 N V EN T ORS .Hen/3f W Honeyman Jr.

Hen/' y 1g?. Honey/Malz, .5f-d.

A TTORNEYS.

Patented Feb. 26, 1952 UNITED STATES'l .PATENT oFFi'cE METHOD ANDArzrisi'is Fon rom/UNG LADDER WEB SLAT VENETIAN BLINDS .f

Henry W. Honeyman, Jr., and Henry W. Hne'ym'an, 3rd, Riverside, R. I.

Application January 7, 1949, serial No. A69,638

9 claims. 1to1. '1t-'5) l This invention relates to the formation of aladder web or support for the slatsof a Venetian blind, moreparticularly to a machine for forming Y sucha construction by molding.

e Soecalled ladder webs 'or supports for the slats of a Venetian blindhave been formed heretofore by weaving on va relatively complicated loomwherein thev cross straps are woven into the webs as a means ofattaching these cross straps between the webs. Various attempts havebeen made at variations of the woven product and some attempt has beenmade at securing cross straps by sewing, cementing or welding the crossstraps to the Webs especially if substitute mate'- rials have been used.These machines have encountered considerable difficulty, and no ma`chine' up to the present time is known of, which will satisfactorilyperform the operation on a large commercial scale.

One of the Objects of this invention is to pfovide a machine which willinold ladder web material in a continuous operation' so that vas themachine runs the ladder Web will be delivered therefrom, as long as thesupply of resin material is fed to the machine thus forming a Aladderweb of an indefinite length. Another object of this invention 'is toprovide a machine in which either the resin material may be formed as onhomogenous piece of material or there may be inserted into the webs ofthe ladder reenforcing fibers'.

Another object of this invention is to provide a machine in which therewill be a plurality of units which, when brought together and passedthrough a chamber of a particular shape, will form the desired cavitiesfor the molded structure.

. Another object of this invention is to provide forthe molding of thedesired structure While parts of the mold are continuously moving sothat there is a continual delivery of the finished product from themachine.

Another object of this invention is to provide for the proper supportand movement of the continually feeding units so that they will repeatin a cycle of operation.

Another object of this invention is to provide a means by which thecirculating units may be forced vtightlyv into engagement one with theother at the time of molding.

With these and other objects in view, the in- SUPPORTS FQR .2 the resinmaterial to be used in the molding operation omitted;

Figure 2 is a. View similar to Figure I1 but on a larger scale and withsome ofthe parts at the ends of the structure omitted;

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken onV line 3-3 of Figure 1 or 2 withparts omitted to better show the driving mechanism for certain parts;

Figure 4 is a sectional view of a portion of the machine taken on line4-4 of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a sectional view on line 5-5 of Fig ure 4;

Figure 6 is 'a sectional view on line S--i of Figure 2;

Figure 2 or on line lil-l0 of Figure 1l;

Figure 11 is a sectional view through themold taken as if along linel'I-Il of the mold part in Figure 7;

Figure 12 is a perspective view of a fragment of the finished articlewhich is molded; and

Figure 13 is a sectional view on line i3ll of Figure A2.

In proceeding with this invention, I provide a molding chamber throughwhich blocks are passed which have recesses so that when in the chamberand a plastic material is forced into the chamber and about the blocks,the desired finished article will be formed. The blocks are arranged topass through the chamber in end-to end tandem relation and then as thereare 'two different forms of blocks, one form is circulated in one orbit,while the other set is circulated in another orbit back to the startingpoint where the blocks are again assembled in tandem relaV- tion in 'theproper sequence. The portion of each vention consists of certain novelfeatures of eonorbit where the blocks form in tandem relation is, commonto the orbits of both forms of blocks. These blocksv are supported sothat they are spaced from the bottom oi the chamber and thus molding mayoccur 'both below and above the blocks and through the 'junction of theblocks by recesses formed at the end of the blocks. A drive is providedwhich engages the blocks and forces them ilrmly into engagement witheach other as the molding takes place. The molding material travelsalong with the blocks until the blocks are separated from the material,and then the Ar'naterial continues to be delivered in its iinished 'formY With reference to the drawings and particularly Figure 3, I haveprovided a supporting framework consisting of uprights I0,joined'together by cross pieces I2 and I3 throughout an extended lengthsufficient so that the desired skeleton structure or table support isprovided. A table I4 is supported on this framework for the positioningof the various operating parts. Upon this table I4, there is supportedby means of standards I5,`a deck I6 upon which there is mounted amolding chamber I1 (see Figs. l, 2, and 10).

This molding chamber I1 has as its bottom wall the deck I6 and isprovided with a top wall I8 (Fig. 10) and side walls I3 and 20, whichside walls present guiding faces 2| and 22 for the blocks shown inFigures 7, 8 and 9. These walls are recessed as at 23 and 24 for thefurther sup'- porting and guiding of these blocks.

The blocks consist of units 25, as shown in Figure 8, and 26, as shownin Figure 9, which have flanges 21. and 28 extending laterally from themiddle of the blocks. These flanges are formed with rack teeth 28 so asto be driven by gears. The-flanges enter recesses 23 and 24 and rideupon the lower surface thereof which serve to guide and support theblocks as they are advanced through the mold. The block 25 has aprojecting portion 38 on one end face and a recess portion 3I on theother end face, while the block 26 has a projecting portion 32 on oneend face and a recess portion 33 on the other end face. When the blocks25 and 26 engage end face to end face the projecting portion 30 of theblock 25 engages the surface 34 of the recess 33 of block 26 and thereis left an opening 35 extending vertically through the blocks betweenthe juncture ofthe blocks 25 and 26; while when the projection 32 of theblock 26 engages the surface 36 of the recess 3I of block 25 there isprovided an opening 31 extending vertically through the blocks betweenthe juncture of these two blocks. These two recesses are staggered withreference to the center line between the blocks when in tandem relation,as shown in Figure 7.

In order to guide the blocks in tandem relation to the chamber' I1, Ihave provided spaced bars 40 and 4I (Fig. 3) for engaging the oppositesides of the lower part of the block and upon which the flanges 21 and28 of the blocks may rest and support the block, while bars 42 and 43are spaced from the bars 40 and 4I and serve to engage and guide theupper portion of the blocks and direct them to the chamber I1. Inleaving the chamber a similar arrangement is provided for the blockswhere they are guided between and supported on thebars 44 and 45, asshown in Figure 2; while upper bars 46 and 41 extending from the chamberand verticallyspaced from the bars 44 and 45 serve to engage and guidethe upper parts of the blocks.

An orbit-designated generally 50 is provided for the circulation of theblocks 25 by suitably guiding the blocks in their movement, and an orbit5I is provided for suitably guiding the blocks 26 in their movement. Theblocks 25 after they extend through the guideways 44 and 45 are moved inthe direction of the arrow 52 by a pusher mechanism, to be laterdescribed; while the blocks 26 the blocks 25 are then moved inwardly bya pusher in the direction of arrow 60, while the blocks 26 are movedinwardly in the direction of the arrow 3|, as seen in Figure 2, to againpass through the guideway between bars 40, 4I (Fig. 3) which is commonto both of the orbits in tandem relation for passage through the moldingchamber I1.

In order that these blocks may be circulated as above indicated, I haveprovided a main drive shaft 65, as shown in Figure 3, which receives itspower from some suitable source either from a belt or from an electricmotor and which serves to drive the entire apparatus. The shaft ismounted in suitable bearings 66 and 61 supported onthe framework I0 andhas a bevel gear 68 which meshes with bevel gear 69 on shaft 18 totransmit power to the pinion gear 1I at the upper end of shaft 10, whilethe gear 12v fixed on shaft'10 transmits motion to the gear 13 on shaft14 which in turn drives the pinion 15. The pinions 1I and '55 engage theopposite racks 21 and 28 of the blocks to drive them forward throughtheir guides 4t, 4I and 42, 43 in the machine. Power is taken off of theshaft 65 by a pair of sprockets 80 and 5I by means of sprocket chains 82and 83 which drive the sprocket gears B4 and B5 on cross shaft 86 asshown clearly in Figure 3 (see also Figure l). These two sprockets andchains are so set as to prevent a back lash in the shaft 86, otherwiseone sprocket would be suitable. The cross shaft 86 serves to drive thecam shaft 81 through spiral gears 88 and 89 at one end, while at theother end it drives the cam shaft 90 through spiral gears 3| and 92. Theshaft 81 transmits motion to the second cross shaft 93 at the deliveryend of the machine through bevel gears 34 and 95.

The cross shaft' 85 (Fig. 1) has a cam 95 mounted upon it substantiallycentrally of the length of the shaft which engages the cam follower 96mounted upon the slide 91 (see also Fig.- 6), which slide is urgedtoward the cam by spring 98 and which has a projection 99 extending intothe slot IGS of the carriage' designated generally IDI so that thecarriage moves forwardly by the action of the cam 95 and is returned bythe spring 98. This carriage IIlI slides in the guide-f way IQE andcarries a nger |33 which is forced upwardly by a spring |84 through theopening in a protuberance on the carriage which is guided in a slot |36in the deck I 6. As this carriage is moved by its spring 98 beneath theblocks, the finger |63 is moved downwardly so as to pass beneath theblock, While after the car` riage has moved to the end of its stroketoward the cam, the finger 53 then springs upwardly so that uponmovement by the cam, the'nger |03 engages a block 25, as shown in Figure6, and moves the block' forwardly along' its guideway.

In order to feed the blocks into the guideway ahead of the chamber fromeither of the orbits, I have provided a cam IIB on the shaft 81 and IiIon the shaft 9G. Cam IIl engages the follower H2 on slide II3, while thecam III engages the follower II4 on the slide II5. These slides II@ andIE5 are guided as at IIB and II1 so that their rods I I6 with end I I9,and I2!) With end I2! will engage the proper block to move the same fromthe outside guideways of their orbits tc the common guideway of theorbits. Ihe cams have a throw substantially the width of one of theblocks and are so timed as to provide the movement of the blocks intoposition as desired for providing movement through the molding chamberwhile a spring such as |22 (see Fig.'

2) serves to move the slide ||8 or |20, outwardly of the machine.

In order to retard the movement of the blocks through the machine sothat their faces may snugly engage, I have provided gears ||25 mountedat the upper ends of shafts |26 which at their lower ends are providedwith ber faced disks |23 and |23 (Fig. 13) between which is a plate |24held against rotation, there being springs |24 to urge the disks againstthe plate, the tension being adjustable by the nuts at the end of shaft|26.

As the blocks pass the gears |25, they are then relieved of the pressuretending to hold them together and are then merely forced forwardly byother blocks pushing them. The blocks are then fed onto the'floor |21 ofa carriage |30 (see Fig, 4) which carries gears |3| to engage the rackson the blocks. As the blocks are fed forwardly and engage these gears,they serve to move the carriage along the rollers |28 with which therails |29 of the carriage engage so as to relieve pressure on theforward movement of the blocks and at this time pushers which areconnected by links |36 and |31, which telescope one Within the other,are actuated by the slides |38 and cams |46 and i4| on the shafts 81 and90 so as to slide a pair of blocks 25 and 26 from the carriage in thedirection of arrows 52 and 53 over to a position in the guideways either54 and 55 or 51 and 56. The cam |40' (see Fig. 1) having follower 111|and slide |42 acting through guide |43 servesto return the carriage |30after it discharges the blocks so as to pick up another pair of blocksand at the same time the blocks 25 and 26 are actuated along the outsidetrack of each of their orbits by cams with follower |46, slide |41 andguide |48, and cam |49, follower |50, slide i5| and guide |52 so as tomove the blocks 26 along the outside path of each of their orbits.

As the blocks are traveling through the machine, a resin material suchas vinyl chloride is injected into the chamber |1 through an openingsuch as (as shown in Figures 1, 2, 0r 10)..

This resin-like material is forced through this opening |55 from ahopper under pressure up to several tons and in a heated condition andinto the interior of the chamber |56 as shown in Figure I through thepassages |51 and |58 so as to ll the space |59 above the blocks and |60lbelow the blocks, while other material passes through the recesses 35and 31 between the blocks -all as the blocks are moving forwardly. Asthe blocks fit closely as at |6| and |62 (see Figure 11) the materialwill not be extruded rearwardly as the blocks move inwardly but willrather be extruded into the more relieved space |59 and |60 above andbelow the blocks on the delivery side of the chamber |1. Thus, as theblocks emerge from the chamber, there will be provided the web material|63 and the web material |64 (see Figs. 11 and 12) with the cross straps|65 and |66 between and in staggered relation, these cross straps beingformed at the juncture of the blocks to permit of the blocks being movedlaterally from either side and from between the webs and permit of theweb material being delivered from the machine in a continuous strip ofindefinite length.

When it is desired to reinforce the resin material with fibers of somelength, these fibers will be mixed in with the resin material to beforced with the resin material through the entrance opening |55 into themold chamber.

We claim:

l. A machine for molding Venetian blind ladder web comprising a chamberhaving parallel opposed faces and with open ends, means for introducingplastic material into said chamber, a plurality of blocks havingopposite parallel faces, means for feeding said blocks through the openends of said chamber in end to end tandem relation with said oppositeparallel faces spaced from said opposed faces of the chamber as movedtherethrough for the molding of opposite webs, said blocks having theirends shaped to provide recesses between abutting ends of the blocks forthe molding of cross straps extending between said Webs when plasticmaterial is forced into said spaces and recesses.

2. A machine as in claim l wherein said blocks are continuouslycirculated through said chamber and said plastic material iscontinuously fed thereto.

3. A machine as in claim l wherein the entrance opening for the blocksat one end of the chamber is a closer -lt with said blocks than the exitopening for the blocks at the other end of the chamber whereby the webmaterial extrudes from the chamber with the blocks as they move throughthe chamber.

Il. A machine as in claim 1 wherein the entrance opening for the blocksat one end of the chamber is a closer fit with said blocks than the exitopening at the other end along said opposed faces whereby the webmaterial extrudes from the chamber with the blocks above and below thesame as they move through the chamber.

5. A machine as in claim 1 wherein said blocks have lateral flangesthrough which the blocks are f guided and fed through the chamber.

6. A machine as in claim 1 wherein said blocks are in tandem contiguousrelation, there being two forms of blocks alternating and with alternate blocks identical.

7. A machine as in claim 1 wherein said blocks are in two forms, andmeans to circulate the blocks of one form through one orbit andcirculate the blocks of the other form through another orbit, saidorbits being common through the chamber, and said blocks being in tandemcontiguous relation through said common orbits with the blocks of oneform alternating with the blocks of the other form.

8. A machine as in claim 1 wherein there are means beyond the chamber toretard the blocks as fed therethrough to insure rm contact of the blocksone with the other in the chamber.

9. The method of forming an article similar to a Venetian blind ladderWeb comprising extruding a resin material in the form of a pair of websin generally parallel spaced relation and while so forming the webssimultaneously connecting the webs by flowing material to form crossstraps extending from web to web located at intervals along thelongitudinal extent of the webs.

HENRY W. HONEYMAN, J a. HENRY W. HONEYMAN, 3RD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 862,475 Haywood Aug. 6. 19072,452,607 Slaughter Nov. 2, 1948

